Pope Leo headed on Sunday, November 8, to Argentina on the second leg of a 12-day tour across South America, Reuters reported from Montevideo. The first US-born pope will give a closely watched speech to Argentine President Javier Milei, a libertarian seen as a close ally of US President Donald Trump. Leo arrived in Argentina from Uruguay, where he urged South American countries to tackle regional issues together and set an example for the value of patient diplomacy over conflict. He was greeted by Milei at the airport in Buenos Aires, according to reports of the arrival.
Awaaz Punjab's coverage of the Uruguay leg, including Leo's first Mass in Paysandu, is here: Pope Leo's first Mass in Paysandu, Uruguay, draws 40,000
A first papal visit in 39 years, weeks after surgery
The 71-year-old pontiff is making one of the most intense foreign trips of a Catholic leader in decades, less than a month after undergoing lung cancer surgery, Reuters said. He is the first Catholic leader to visit Argentina since 1987 and will tour four cities until Wednesday, November 11. The full three-country tour — Uruguay, Argentina and then Peru — runs through November 17. Religion News Service noted the Argentina leg, from November 8 to 11, is the first time a pope has come to the country in 39 years, and that Leo previously served as an Augustinian missionary and bishop in Peru, the tour's final stop.
Source: Religion News Service, Nov 3 2026 — Leo's Latin America homecoming will also honor Francis' legacy
Why the speech to Milei will be parsed line by line
The address may underscore tensions between the Vatican and Milei, whose austerity agenda has been criticised by the Church for hitting the poorest most, and who has strongly supported the Iran war, which Leo has criticised to Trump's ire, Reuters reported. Milei swept to power in 2023 after a run of centre-left Peronist rule, campaigning with a chainsaw as a symbol of the deep cuts to state spending he pledged to shore up the country's finances. He has defended his austerity as the only way to bring inflation under control: under his economic campaign, annual inflation has fallen from over 200 percent to 33 percent, Reuters said.
Source: Reuters via SRN News, Nov 8 2026
The other side of that record is what the Church keeps pointing to. Official data show poverty reached 32.3 percent of the population in the first half of 2026, affecting about 15 million Argentines, according to Arab News reporting cited in coverage of the arrival; the health budget has been slashed by 48 percent in real terms since Milei took office in December 2023, alongside subsidy and public-sector job cuts. Argentina's bishops have been among Milei's firmest critics: a study of Bishops' Conference documents found 42 of 44 public-policy statements since January 2024 took a critical position, MercoPress reported. Milei, for his part, points to poverty falling from more than 50 percent at the start of his term to roughly 32.3 percent in the most recent measurement, and has enthusiastically promoted Leo's visit.
Source: GlobeTV / Al-Monitor / Arab News reporting, Nov 8 2026; MercoPress via EuropeSays, Nov 3 2026
An itinerary that makes its own point
Leo's programme includes a visit to the Pequeno Cottolengo Don Orione, a Catholic care home for people with disabilities in Claypole — a sector whose government funding has been cut under the austerity programme — and a meeting with inmates at a federal prison in Buenos Aires on November 11, as well as the shrine of Our Lady of Lujan and a stop in Cordoba, the Vatican has confirmed. Authorities expect some 7 million people to follow the Pope across Buenos Aires, Claypole, Lujan and Cordoba, in what Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva described as the largest security operation in the country's history, MercoPress reported.
What is solid
- Leo arrived in Argentina on Sunday, November 8, for the second leg of a 12-day, three-country South America tour ending November 17 in Peru — reported by Reuters.
- It is the first visit by a pope to Argentina since 1987; Leo will tour four cities until Wednesday, November 11.
- Reuters reports the two tension points plainly: Church criticism of Milei's austerity for hitting the poorest, and Milei's strong support for the Iran war, which Leo has criticised.
What is only claimed
- What Leo will actually say to Milei — the speech has not yet been delivered, and any criticism is expected to be implicit rather than a direct naming of the president.
- How the visit plays politically ahead of Argentina's 2027 elections — market and opposition readings of the trip differ sharply from the government's presentation of it as a pastoral visit.
What happens next: Leo's address to Milei and the political establishment is the moment every side is waiting for, and it will be read line by line in Buenos Aires and in Washington — Milei is a close Trump ally, and the pope's criticism of the Iran war has already drawn Trump's ire. The disability-home and prison visits will follow before the tour moves on to Peru. Awaaz Punjab will report the speech when it is delivered.